Turning your back on the PGA Tour is one thing, ignoring the advice of Michael Jordan, well, that’s what Harold Varner III did this week when he joined the LIV defectors.
It wasn’t that long ago when Jordan spoke with Varner and urged him to ignore The Infidels (aka the Saudis) and stick with the tried and true events on the PGA Tour.
It was last June that Jordan advised Varner to reject offers from LIV and stay on the PGA Tour.
After that, Varner came out and said:
“I’m obviously not going. I’ve spoken with (PGA Tour Commissioner) Jay (Monahan), I’ve spoken with a lot of people I look up to and it just wasn’t worth it to me for what it was worth. That’s pretty simple.”
One of those “people” was Jordan himself and Varner confirmed it when he said:
“I think it helps because I’m sure he’s (Jordan) had decisions like this long before I was even born. But there’s been a lot of people that I look up to that are obviously super wealthy and super successful and different places in the world.”
Varner was also in a business relationship with Jordan. He wears, or now, used to wear the Jordan signature brand with the Jumpman logo from head to toe. That relationship has now come to a swift end.
Varner was popular with his fellow PGA Tour players and spoke to many when he first declined the LIV overtures.
“It’s very odd, when you only hear what the top players are saying, because there’s people down there that are in the middle that didn’t get an offer from LIV, that are very important for the PGA Tour. I think it’d be very important to hear their thoughts,” Varner said in June.
So now Varner is history as far as the PGA Tour goes. He’ll have to face the face that he was never a winner there. He did manage to win once in Australia and walked away with some of that Saudi money last February when he holed a 90-foot putt to beat Bubba Watson, who is already a LIV employee.
Varner departed the PGA Tour with career earnings a tad north of $10.2 million.
Zero PGA Tour wins and Varner will have difficulties making it into the major championships down the road.
So it’s adios Harold.
MJ says you can keep the Jumpman gear but just never put it on again.
Korn Ferry Tour Finale — Tour Championship With 17 Tour Cards To Be Won:
The Korn Ferry Tour’s season finale begins on Thursday at the Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, outside Evansville, Indiana.
There are still 17 PGA Tour cards on the line and the magic point total needs is 220.
Twenty-five players have already earned their cards from the regular season standings and another 25 will secure their cards come Sunday.
Among those trying to play their way onto the PGA Tour is former University of Texas star Pierceson Coody.
 Turns His Back On PGA Tour AND Michael Jordan){kind=link}
10 Comments
baxter cepeda
I’m having a hard time finding news that Jordan dumped Harold.
Seems hard to believe.
But Tom is a professional sports journalist, so I’m sure it’s fact.
Tom Edrington
Every reputable company has ended their relationships with LIV defectors, no doubt the Jordan brand will do the same….
baxter cepeda
I’m super confused. Because my eyes see a lot of these LIv players still wearing all sorts of reputable companies logos.
Kevin Na taught me something: pga tour players wear NOTHING for free.
Tom Edrington
As I stated before, most reputable companies have severed ties…..NA is probably wearing his old stuff because he’s too cheap to pay for stuff himself.
baxter cepeda
Nonsense. These guys have not lost sponsors. Phil did. But even he is slowly recouping.
Tom Edrington
I’ll never know as I won’t watch the LIV circus on U-Tube.
baxter cepeda
Harold is wearing Jordan’s logo at the LIv presser.
Tom Edrington
They’re not paying him plus LIV typically requires you were LIV stuff, which the DP World Tour told them NOT to wear at Wentworth next week. Even though HVIII is a fellow ECU alum, as Mr. Wonderful says on Shark Tank: “He’s dead to me!”
baxter cepeda
Where are you getting these facts from ?
Anyways. I found it fascinating Pelley “asked” them not to wear the LIv logos.
My response would be to remind pelley the players have a few requests of their own.
Is this a conflict or a negotiation?
Because These types of requests usually come with compromise.
Tom Edrington
Not sure what the DP World Tour regulations look like……